it takes time and some distance to understand the boundaries of an era

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the mid 18th century

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so the Baroque era didn't receive its name until mid 18th century

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at first it had a negative meaning

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the style known as Classical music was being established

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the simple, singable melodies that we associate with Haydn, Mozart, and later Beethoven

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critics who preferred the newer, simpler style compared it to complex, contrapuntal style of Bach and the music of the 17th century

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they call this music "Baroque"

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the word itself is French and literally means "misshapen pearl"

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with regard to music, it's meant to convey the idea that the music from that time was somehow exaggerated, irregular, overwrought, and overdecorated

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19th century

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"Baroque" took on a positive meaning

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critiques and audiences came to appreciate the earlier music as ornate, dramatic and expressive

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painting and sculptures now depicted people in action or in motion as opposed to simply standing or posing in one position

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in literature, think of the high drama in Shakespeare's plays or the rise of operatic stories

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even the new style of architecture conveyed this new idea of drama

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key elements in Baroque

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not just music but painting, sculpture, architecture, literature was its focus on drama

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in painting

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often depicted people in action or motion, as apposed to simply standing or posing

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in literature

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the high drama in Shakespeare's plays

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the rise of operatic stories

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in architecture

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statues, paintings and ornamentation conveyed drama

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music was valued for its ability to move the affections or emotions of the listener

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sadness, joy, anger, love, fear

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experiencing a range of emotions in a single piece of music brought one's soul into a more stable state which promoted better physical and mental health

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unlike the Romantic era and later

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Baroque composers were not expressing their personal feelings or emotions through their music

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they were expressing the range of emotions found in the text or in a story, or simply a range of contrasting emotions

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a time of national styles

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each country developed its own sound and composition techniques

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the music of the Renaissance which comes before and Classical which comes after, were international

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Baroque in Italy

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Florentine Camerata

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a group of thinkers, scientists, poets, and musicians

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hosted by the count of Florence, Giovanni de' Bardi and Vincenzo Galilei and others

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purpose of group was to discuss and shape trends in literature, science and the arts which included music

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researched and discussed the role of music in ancient Greek tragedies

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from these discussions they created what we know today as opera, including concepts such as

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aria = vocal solo

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recitative = vocal passage in which singing resembles speech

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[res-ih-tah-TEEV]

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first operas

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1598 Daphne

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by Jacopo Peri (1561-1633)

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1600 L'euridice

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by Jacopo Peri

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aria and recitative affected all genres of music

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instrumental

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religious

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1607 Claudio Monteverdi, "L'Orfeo"

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took opera to a new level

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through 17th century, opera expanded from Greek tragedies

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mythology

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comedy

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epic stories

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audiences were drawn to famous soloists singing the most popular arias

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costumes and sets grew more adventurous

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this made opera the most popular genre of the Baroque

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Baroque in France

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French developed a different style of Baroque than Italy

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influenced heavily by

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1. dance, specifically ballet

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2. the reign of King Louis XIV

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reigned for almost 72 years

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known as Sun King after Apollo

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god of sun, music, poetry, and science

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spent money on arts

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funded court ballet

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established the Royal Academy of Dance and Music

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used this as propaganda

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large ensembles

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24 Violins of the King

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by 1670s became known as orchestra

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Jean Baptiste Lully

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[loo-LEE]

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actually from Florence

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came to France in 1646 at the age of 14

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Italian tutor for one of the king's cousins

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appointed the court composer of instrumental music

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charged with creating a new kind of French opera different than Italian opera

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refined and elegant ornamentation

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French overtures with their majestic rhythms

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strict and known for instilling discipline in his orchestra

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demanded uniform bowing

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all bows in a string section must move up and down at the same time

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his orchestras were very popular

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this discipline was modeled in other orchestras

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to convey his power to his orchestra

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he conducted with a staff which he banged on the floor

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often based on dance

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4 or 5 dances of contrasting tempos, meters, and styles were often collected into a suite, e.g.

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Allemande: moderate tempo in 4

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followed by a Courante in 3

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a slow, dignified dance in 3

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followed by a fast dance in 6/8

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dances were stylized

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ornamentation were such that you could no longer actually dance to it

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minuet

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a social dance of French origin for two people, usually in 3/4 time

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chaconne

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used as a vehicle for variation on a repeated short harmonic progression, often involving a fairly short repetitive bass-line (ground bass) which offered a compositional outline for variation, decoration, figuration and melodic invention

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Baroque in England

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music was supported in Italy by strong cities and churches, e.g. in Rome and Venice

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in France music was supported by King Louis the XIV

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in England the support for music was not as strong

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weakened monarchy

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relatively short periods of Henry VIII's children in the 16th century

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English Civil War (1642–1651) that even ended the monarchy for a short time

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a few composers attempted to develop an English style

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Henry Purcell (1659-1695)

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1688 Dido and Aeneas [DIGH-doh and ah-NEE-us]

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an opera

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prologue and three acts

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George Friedrich Händel (1685-1759)

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1712 moved to London

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blended Italian opera with elements of French and English styles

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wrote over 40 operas in London before switching his focus to oratorios, e.g. the Messiah in 1741

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opera was never as popular with the London public as it was in Italy and France

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masques

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England had what one calls masques, which were more collaborative performances, not unified in plot or style

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also semi-operas

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spoken plays with musical interludes

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public concerts and publications

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the only viable way that professional musicians could make a living

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how music in the Baroque was funded

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support for music in the Baroque

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royal courts

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city governments

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churches

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wealthy families, e.g. Medici

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Baroque marked a shift in who paid for music

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began to be shaped by the public

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1637 first public opera house in San Cassiano

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1672 first public instrumental concert in London

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the exanding middle class began to decide what was popular and what was not by the power of buying tickets

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people had a high demand for new music rather than music of the past

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each important church day, parties, weddings, etc.

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it was expected that there would be new music composed for that occasion

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very few vocal works were performed for more than a year or two

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instrumental music lasted a few decades, usually as long as the composer was alive

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a large amount of music was produced because of the demand

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monody was the most popular singing genre

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accompanied solo singing, arias

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it was the easiest way to understand the text

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showed off the talents of the singer

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violin became the most popular instrument

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composers would write specifically for soloists

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example of this is the "Ciaccona" from Johann Sebastian Bach's Partita for Violin No. 2

Vocabulary:

theorbo, n. [thee-OHR-bow]a plucked string instrument of the lute family with an extended neck and a second pegbox, developed during the late sixteenth century in Italy, inspired by the demand for extended bass range instruments for use in opera developed by the Florentine Camerata and new musical works utilizing basso continuo, i.e. the accompanying part of a musical piece which includes a bass line and harmonies⇒ "Accompanying instruments could be lute, chitarrone, theorbo, harpsichord, organ, and even on occasion guitar."

People:

Jean Baptiste Lully (1632-1687)

[loo-LEE]

Italian-born French composer, instrumentalist, and dancer who spent most of his life working in the court of Louis XIV of France, considered a master of the French baroque style

came from Florence to France in 1646 at the age of 14 to be the Italian tutor for one of the king's cousins, and became a French subject at age 30

appointed the court composer of instrumental music

charged with creating a new kind of French opera different than Italian opera, refined it with elegant ornamentation and created French overtures with their majestic rhythms

strict and known for instilling discipline in his orchestra, e.g. demanded uniform bowing in which all bows in a string section must move up and down at the same time

Lully's music is known for its power, liveliness in its fast movements and its deep emotional character in its slower movements

some of his most popular works are dance movements found in many of his works such as Armide or Phaëton

Ideas and Concepts:

Original derogatory meanings learned in this morning's History of Western Music class: "The Baroque era of music extended roughly from 1600 to 1750. It takes time and some distance to understand the boundaries of an era, and in this case it wasn't until the mid-18th-century that Baroque received its name. At first the word had a negative meaning, as the style known as Classical was already being established:the simple, singable melodies that we now associate with Haydn, Mozart, and later Beethoven. Eighteenth century critics who preferred the newer, simpler style of Classical music compared it to the more complex, contrapuntal style of Bach and the music of the 17th century as "Baroque", a French word that literally means "misshapen pearl" which, with regard to music, meant to convey the idea that the music from that period was exaggerated, irregular, overwrought, and overdecorated."

Via this morning's History of Western Music: "Unlike music from the Romantic era and later, Baroque composers were not expressing their personal feelings or emotions through their music. They were expressing the range of emotions found in the text or in a story, or simply a range of contrasting emotions. Music was valued for its ability to move the affections or emotions of the listener:sadness, joy, love, fear. It was believed that experiencing a range of emotions in a single piece of music brought one's soul into a more stable state which promoted better physical and mental health."

Hitherto unknown musical genre, via tonight's History of Western Music class: "monody, n. a solo vocal style distinguished by having a single melodic line and instrumental accompaniment, specifically a type of Italian song of the early 17th century, developed out of an attempt by the Florentine Camerata (a group of humanists, musicians, poets and intellectuals in late Renaissance Florence) to restore ancient Greek ideas of melody and declamation:one solo voice sings a melodic part, usually with considerable ornamentation, over a rhythmically independent bass line. Accompanying instruments could be lute, chitarrone, theorbo, harpsichord, organ, and even on occasion guitar."

Significant groups of the Renaissance via this morning's History of Western Music class: "The Florentine Camerata, known also as the Camerata de' Bardi, was a group of humanists, musicians, poets and intellectuals in late Renaissance Florence who gathered under the patronage of Count Giovanni de' Bardi to discuss and guide trends in the arts, especially music and drama. While propounding a revival of the Greek dramatic style, the Camerata's musical experiments led to the development of the stile recitativo, a style of delivery in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms of ordinary speech. In this way it facilitated the composition of dramatic music and the development of opera. Members included Vincenzo Galilei, the father of the astronomer Galileo Galilei."

Baroque entertainment genre of the day via this morning's History of Western Music class: "In the 17th century, opera was never as popular with the London public as it was in Italy and France. What was quite popular in England, however, were masques, which were more collaborative performances, not unified in plot or style, but more of a form of festive courtly entertainment that flourished in all of Europe but was especially popular in England. A masque involved music and dancing, singing and acting, within an elaborate stage design, in which the architectural framing and costumes might be designed by a renowned architect, to present a deferential allegory flattering to the patron. Professional actors and musicians were hired for the speaking and singing parts, but occasionally kings, queens, and other high-ranking people of the court might themselves would take part in the performances."